New equipment for the Cheshire Hunt Sabs!

We're delighted to have provided new cameras and radios for the Cheshire Hunt Sabs!

On their Facebook page, the Cheshire Hunt Sabs say “We are a group of autonomous individuals dedicated to saving animals from hunting.” That’s a sentiment we can get fully behind!

While this is a relatively small group, they are extremely active, out in all weathers, and very effective. The ‘hunting season’ is fully underway now and Cheshire Hunt Sabs are back in the field again, as reports of cubbing and dubious claims made by hunts to be ‘hound exercising’ on their Facebook page demonstrate.

“They called it exercise, then they cast hounds in cornfields and woods.” Cheshire Hunt Sabs 07 Sept 24

While their focus is mainly on the Cheshire Hunt (of ‘Drone proves 'no trail laid' by Cheshire Hunt’ fame), the group often links up with other sabs and monitors to keep an eye on the Cheshire Forest Hunt, the Flint & Denbigh, and the notorious Wynnstay, a hunt that has featured on Protect the Wild far too often (eg most recently ‘GUILTY: Wynnstay Hunt security guard convicted of racial abuse’ in July this year).

Cheshire Hunt Sabs at the end of the 2023/24 season.

The Cheshire Sabs approached us recently asking if we could help with some new personal-safety equipment. Of course, that’s what our Support Network and Equipment Fund is for after all.

After checking back with them to make sure exactly what they needed, we have been happy to send them three new police-style bodycams and a four-pack of long-range multi-band radios.

The group told us:

“Many thanks Protect the Wild. We needed to replace our equipment because some radios had been stolen, and some cameras had been damaged. These new pieces of equipment will be very useful! Checking the cameras, they are amazing! Waterproof, alarm, illuminator and even night viewer. They are more then perfect for sabbing. We really need them.

We are no longer with the HSA and we’re very grateful that you’ve helped us out like this”.

We’re grateful to the brave people who are out there protecting wildlife, and always pleased to help them.

And as we have said many times protecting wildlife is difficult, takes huge personal sacrifice, and can be dangerous. Without wishing to minimalise or trivialise the risk and the violence that pro-wildlife activists face in any way, hopefully we can do our bit to keep them at least a little safer with the equipment we're providing...

• Images credit Cheshire Hunt Sabs. Find out more about the Cheshire Hunt Sabs on Facebook

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We are only able to give much-needed equipment like these bodycams and radios to monitors and sabs because of paid subscriptions on our Substack. While all our online content is free, any money we do receive from paid subscriptions is ringfenced and used to put ‘eyes in the field’. It’s a simple idea – but the best ideas usually are! If you’d like to know more we have explained it all in our post “What do we mean by “Empowering people to protect British wildlife“?

With your support we will be giving out many more pieces of equipment to groups over the coming months and years. And we will always keep you up to date with how you are directly helping wildlife!

• If you’re an individual or organisation working in the field and would like our support, please have a look at the Support Network page on our website. We’d love to hear from you.

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